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Setting
The Shattered Lands A handful of small kingdoms eek out an existence side by side. Only a generation ago the Great Pestilence swept across the world, lasting years. The pestilence wiped out entire families, entire villages, leaving a shell of civilization. The Old Kingdom fell, the line of the king destroyed, the king himself gone mad and turned to dark necromancies, now undead, sits on a throne recognized by no one as sovereign. Those few who survived tried to eek our an existence, most cut off from the rest of the world, afraid that a stranger would spread the plague further. Trade halted, economies collapsed, the great merchant houses fell into ruin. No races were spared, no magic, or prayers could stop it, all from the smallest mouse to the mightiest dragon suffered an agonizing and painful death. The legions of the undead swelled, the Plaguewalkers roamed the land, taking more life, spreading the disease. The Gods were silent and offered no answers, but priests of Urgathoa, the goddess of disease, undeath and gluttony proclaimed their time had come. Great heroes undertook quests, seeking ancient knowledge and answers to stop the blight. Nothing worked. Eventually a new star appeared in the sky, illuminating the night for a week. As suddenly as it appeared, the star was gone, and so was the plague. Those who survived, either naturally immune, lucky, or perhaps chosen by the gods, were puzzled but thankful. They began to rebuild society. It would take generations to repopulate. Only twenty five years have passed since the Pestilence, but there is hope. The Elves and Dwarves were hit hardest, with their long lives and low birth rates. The foul humanoids in the hills breed rapidly and are a growing problem as their numbers swell and no armies are able to hold them in check. So too, the fringe barbarian tribes, raiding and taking from the ruin of the past. The Plaguewalkers are the worst, for they did not go away, and although the plaque they spread is still virulent, it is not the plague of the past, but their numbers are legion, and they hunger for flesh. The Five Kingdoms of the Westmoor maintain an alliance, the strongest warlords rising to proclaim themselves king or queen, marriages and alliances arranged amongst them all to strengthen their claims. New heroes are appearing, eager to delve into old ruins, recovering lost magics, maps and knowledge. Great riches lie forgotten and buried. Of the few who survived, many remember a great number of secrets, but few are telling... The former king went mad after the plague took his wife, the queen, and their children, in an effort to return them he turned to the dark arts of necromancy. While he was not able to return them to life, he did manage to turn himself to a lich before the plague took his kingdom. The old mad lich king still rules from his castle, with his personal retinue of Plague Knights, his former Guard turned by Plaguebringers. Since the king is not technically alive, and rather unfit to rule a kingdom, no one acknowledges his claim as a ruler any more. The shattered lands remaining are broken into smaller kingdoms now, ruled by five new sovereigns. _______________________________________________ IRL Game Rules: Books allowed: Core Rulebook, Advanced Players Guide, Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Equipment Guide. Races allowed: Core players book only, with variants/traits from APG/ARG Classes allowed: Core classes with their variants. Also Witch, Alchemist, Cavalier, possibly others. No gunslinger, samurai, ninja, oracle, summoner, iniqisitor Starting level: 3 Starting gold: starting money + 3000gp Starting magic: whatever you can buy starting money. If you have item creation feats, you can purchase at half cost if you can make the spellcraft rolls. Alternate rules: 2 background traits Flavor: high fantasy medieval 'style' culture/technology. Asian/Middle eastern stuff exists but is elsewhere in the world and cut off, therefore no one should be using katanas etc. Bestiaries: We can use all bestiaries for purposes of animal companions etc. Dinosaurs and Pleistocene type animals exist in the far reaches of the wilds. These are of course extremely rare in civilized areas. Far to the south are tropical jungles, swamps and savannas with African style wild life. Far to the north would be your polar bears and other 'cold' weather animals. Normal stuff nearby would be your typical temperate wolves, bears and mountain lion types.